Agent Commons for VS Code

Your agents, right beside your code. Chat with Agent Commons, attach files, review local edits, and return to earlier conversations without opening a terminal.

Get started

1. Install Agent Commons from the Visual Studio Marketplace.
2. Open a project folder and click Agent Commons in the Activity Bar (Cmd+Alt+A / Ctrl+Alt+A).
3. Select Continue with Commons and approve sign-in in your browser.
4. Choose an agent in the composer and describe what you want to build.

Requires VS Code 1.95+ and Node.js 22+ on the extension host. For Remote SSH, WSL, and Dev Containers, install Node on the remote host. A Commons account and agent are required; usage follows your account's billing. The extension is free.

The Node runtime is bundled. You do not need to install the CLI separately. For an offline extension installation, download agent-commons.vsix from the GitHub releases and run Extensions: Install from VSIX….

Chat and context

• Stream responses directly in the sidebar. Enter sends; Shift+Enter adds a line.
• Use + to attach files or the current editor file/selection, including unsaved text.
• Drop files onto the composer or paste images. Remove attachment chips before sending.
• Attach up to 10 files, each up to 10 MB. Small text files are included as context; images, documents, and larger files use Commons file uploads.
• Use @src/file.ts to reference a project file when local tools are enabled.
• Right-click code to Explain Selection or File or Review Selection or File. These actions start a fresh read-only conversation.
• Your agent controls model selection. Choose another agent in a new chat to change it.
• The stop button ends local processing and disconnects the stream. Remote tools already in progress may finish on the server.

History and changes

The history button opens searchable conversations across your agents. Filter to This project for chats previously opened in this project, rename a chat from its row menu, or select one to continue with its original agent. The new-chat button starts a separate conversation. Each chat keeps its own composer draft. Only one response runs at a time in a VS Code window.

Tool activity starts collapsed. Expand it to inspect commands, arguments, and results. File-change cards show replacement-hunk line counts and expandable previews. Review in editor opens saved before/after snapshots in the native VS Code diff editor. File references in responses open inside your project.

Direct file-tool writes are captured as they happen. In Git projects, completed turns also compare text files before and after commands (up to 500 KB per file and 10 MB per snapshot). Binary files and files beyond these bounds are not included. Changes made concurrently by another editor or process can appear in this comparison. Use Source Control for a complete repository diff. An unsaved editor buffer blocks agent writes to that file until you save it.

Account and permissions

The account button shows your identity, a link to Commons account settings, agent selection, extension settings, and sign-out. Browser sign-in uses a one-time code; no password or API key is entered into the webview. Signing out also signs the shared CLI out on this machine.

Approved commands run with your operating-system permissions. They are not sandboxed. Local file tools reject project escapes, symlink escapes, and common credential locations such as .env, .ssh, .aws, and .agc. Explicit file-picker attachments may be outside the project. The filter is not a comprehensive secret scanner. Local permissions do not change the agent's remote platform permissions.

Prompts, attached files, project instructions (AGENTS.md), and tool results are processed by Agent Commons and the agent's model provider. The extension adds no analytics. Credentials remain in the CLI's protected ~/.agc/config.json; they never enter webview state or process arguments. Conversation and diff snapshots are stored in VS Code workspace storage, separated by account. Drafts use webview state. Sign-out hides history but does not delete local snapshots or remote chats.

Settings and troubleshooting

Use Agent Commons: Open Settings to configure:

• agentCommons.nodePath: Node.js 22+ executable, machine-scoped. Set an absolute path if Node is not on PATH, then reload the window.
• agentCommons.localTools: default permission mode for new chats.

If sign-in expires, retry for a fresh code. If agents or history fail to load, check your network and sign in again. Create your first agent at Agent Commons if your account has none. Browser-only VS Code and untrusted workspaces are unsupported.

Development

pnpm install --frozen-lockfile
pnpm --filter @agent-commons/sdk build
pnpm --filter @agent-commons/cli typecheck
pnpm --filter agent-commons typecheck
pnpm --filter agent-commons test
pnpm --filter agent-commons build
python3 packages/commons-vscode/test/terminal-smoke.py
pnpm --filter agent-commons package

test/extension-host.cjs runs with VS Code's --extensionTestsPath flag. test/browser-smoke.cjs exercises the webview in Playwright; install Playwright or set COMMONS_PLAYWRIGHT_PATH to its module. Optionally set COMMONS_BROWSER_EXECUTABLE to a Chromium executable. Tests use isolated accounts and API fixtures, including browser authorization, streaming, attachment upload, edit approval/denial, history, and stream failures.

The VS Code Extension workflow tests Linux, Windows, and macOS. A vscode-vX.Y.Z tag matching the package version publishes a GitHub release and VSIX. A manual workflow run on main with publish_marketplace enabled publishes that tested artifact using the VSCE_PAT repository secret. Never commit publishing credentials.